Mentoring Tanglelace
by Kryptonian-Suckerpunch
Summary: She was an orphan kitten with a bum leg, and they were two criminal cats regarded as careless and reckless. She became their apprentice, and they became her family.


They were regarded as two of the most irresponsible Jellicles. They were petty thieves and nobody spoke of them in a high manner. Everyone spoke about them as the mischievous, trouble-making cats that didn't care about anyone but themselves, and they didn't love anything besides stealing. Then again, nobody knew about Tanglelace.

She was a tiny cat that was skinnier than a rail, ribs showing through her shabby coat like the clouds shown in the sky. They were leaving a bust, dancing along the road with their sacks full of stolen food, laughing and chuckling like the goofs that they were. It was raining that night, more rain than any Jellicle had ever seen. Many cats seeked shelter, but Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer happily danced around in the rain, coats soaked. It was too dark to see the kitten, but they definitely heard her. Her pitiful wailing struck through the night louder than the thieves glee. They both silenced, looking around for the source of the wails. It was Mungojerrie who found her, cowering under a soggy newspaper. She attempted to hiss at him, but it was more pitiful than the whining. Her hiss was merely a squeak, so pathetic that Mungojerrie burst out in laughter.

"Come get a look at this one, Tizz!" Mungojerrie called to Rumpleteazer, who quickly glided over. "Smaller than my paw, this one!" The tiny cat attempted another hiss again to threaten them, but it did the complete opposite. The two cats burst into hysterical laughter, nearly toppling over and slipping on the rain drenched street. The kitten's tiny face twisted in embarrassment as she pulled the soggy, tattered newspaper back over her head. This attempt to hide was in vain, given the fact that Mungo and Rumple never gave up on something that struck their curiosity. "Whatcha doing under there?" Rumpleteazer asked, snatching the newspaper up and tossing it over her shoulder. The tiny cat jumped up in surprise, looking at them in shock as if they had thrown away her soul right in front of her. "Dontcha got somewhere else to live besides some grimy newspaper?" Mungojerrie asked, grinning at the kitten who shivered in the rain. Upon getting no reply, Rumpleteazer pulled a hunk of bread from her sack. "You hungry?" She asked. The kitten's head immediately shot up at this question, anxiously nodding her tiny head. Rumpleteazer held the bread out to the young kitten, and it was snatched up within seconds.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer watched the cat, shivering and soaked to the bone, chew up the bread within a matter of moments. They watched her with fascination, for they had never seen a cat so small and tiny. The kitten before them was even smaller than Jemima, which not many Jellicles thought possible. Her body was striped an orange and white, and her face was white with an orange circle around her left eye. Her eyes, one blue and one green, watered from sickness. Her coat was messy and tangled, matted with dirt and other filth. She truly was in horrible condition, and it was a miracle that she was alive and breathing before them. A kitten of such small build and skinny frame was unheard of, but there she was.

"What's your name?" Mungojerrie asked, inching closer to the kitten for a better look. She immediately shied away, shuffling away from them as fast as her tiny paws would move her. "What's the matter? Afraid of the big bad cat?" Mungojerrie added, looking to Rumpleteazer as they both erupted into laughter once more. "Ol' Mungo here ain't nothing to be afraid of! He's a big wuss!" Rumpleteazer whispered loudly to the kitten, winking at her comedically. This joke earned her a swat on the ear from Mungojerrie, who scowled at her with irritation. The kitten didn't make a noise, but she smiled. The smile was so tiny that the two cats almost didn't notice, but it overjoyed Rumpleteazer upon noticing.

"Lookie lookie!" Rumpleteazer announced, wiggling her paws in the kitten's direction. "She's smiling for me!" The voices of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were so loud that they frightened her. Overwhelmed by the attention, the kitten quickly buried her face in her paws. "Ya still haven't told us your name. We don't wanna have to call ya 'tiny' or somethin' stupid like that" Mungojerrie laughed again, a loud, sharp noise that made the kitten jump with surprise. "Maybe she can't talk" Rumpleteazer whispered, eyeing the kitten suspiciously.

"Hey! I can talk!" the kitten snapped, trying to sound menacing and threatening, but her high voice diminished the effect. She striked at Mungojerrie's nose, her mangled claws giving him a quick scratch. Mungo yelped more out of surprise than pain at the young one's outburst, hissing at her with his paws over his nose. "Sheesh, you're a feisty one, ain't ya?" Rumpleteazer teased, but her face broke out into a big grin. She saw a lot of herself in the young one's attitude, which amused her greatly. Mungojerrie, though, didn't find it funny at all. "Picking fights with cats too big for her, if you ask me" Mungo grumbled, giving the kitten a sour look. "Well nobody was asking you!" the kitten replied with an equal amount of snarkiness. Mungo frowned at her, but Rumple's grin grew even bigger. "She's funny! I like her!" Mungo looked at his criminal partner in surprise. "Well, idiots tend to get along" Rumpleteazer gave him a shove and shot him a look, turning back to the tiny kitten.

"You got a name?" The kitten hesitated, as if this was super secret information that was to be hidden at all costs. She gave them a weary look before replying. "Tanglelace" A crash of thunder filled the air, a loud sound that made the two older cats jump in surprise. Tanglelace though, took surprise to another degree. She darted forward, slamming straight into Mungojerrie. Out of impulse, Tanglelace hid underneath him, her back pressed to Mungojerrie's chest for shelter. He could feel her boney, shaking form against him. "What are you doing?" Mungo asked, giving her a shove away from him. Tanglelace skidded away, her back left right leg trailing behind her. It was a noticeable limp that caught their attention within moments.

Rumple gave Mungo a scolding swat on the ear and scowled at him. "Little thing is afraid of the thunder, you nitwit!" Rumple's voice was harsh, but it softened when she turned back to Tanglelace. "Poor thing. You've got no family, have ya?" Tanglelace shook her head, looking away from them in shame. She didn't say anything about her situation, but they knew it. She was abandoned, most likely because of her bum leg.

Rumple turned to Mungo and grinned. "Let's keep her!" Mungo immediately shook his head.

"You kiddin'? No way!"

"Oh come on Mungee! Look how cute she is!"

Tanglelace looked at them both in confusion, watching as they argued and bickered about what to do with the young tabby. "We don't need another mouth to feed!"

"She can help us!"

"With that leg? Yeah right. Whatever you say."

"Hey, I'm right here!" This remark came from Tanglelace, who looked at the both of them with annoyance. She was unnaturally tiny and all around pathetic looking, but she wasn't helpless.

From her tiny form came a snapping wit.

From a reluctant Mungojerrie and an adoring Rumpleteazer, came Tanglelace's new mentors.


End file.
